


keep my promises (it makes me feel safe)

by bihenry



Category: Daybreak - Fandom
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Gen, big brother josh, i wrote this in 2 hours so like. enjoy lol, just angelica being baby as usual, kind of?, prob v ooc but u know what, spoilers for the whole season, the best found siblings i ever seen thanks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 13:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21180554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bihenry/pseuds/bihenry
Summary: he's not sure how he went from "i'm not babysitting you, angelica", to tucking the kid into bed - but here he is. the apocalypse is full of surprises.





	keep my promises (it makes me feel safe)

**Author's Note:**

> takes place a few hours after the season 1 finale. might be a bit ooc, but to be honest i don't really care -- i just love the sam / angelica / wesley dynamic and wish they touched on it more. this is purely self indulgent. eli deserved better. 
> 
> THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. mostly out of context and from joshs perspective, but none the less. don't say i didn't warn you.
> 
> okay bye

he explosion rattled his bones even hours after it happened.

josh isn't sure if it's supposed to last as long as the ringing in his ears --- for what its worth, that has gone down significantly --- but he can still feel it rattling the ground underneath his feet, making him unlevel and uneasy. such a far contrary to the josh from less than a week ago, before he created a tribe of his own.

wesley is easily his best man - though he's sure eli would have been prying for that position if he hadn't ... nevermind.

part of josh can still feel his body go limp, his blood on his hand, leaking through his fingers. and as much as the kid is an asshole, he deserved a much more heroic way to go out. 

as he steps through the once again crowded cafeteria, their home base, essentially, he thinks about the tribe he'd created ( eli included, sam too, maybe --- his heart is still tugging at the seams about her <strike>the only thing he can think of to call it</strike> betrayal ).

wesley. the kid who used to be such an asshole to him in school, the kid that wanted to kill him. forgiveness is a hard bargain and he's not so quick to forgive and forget just yet. still, the guy is a useful asset and knows how to use a sword. that, and he's quick on his feet -- even if his romantic conquests are a bit more questionable.

then there's angelica. the kids crazy smart, of course she is -- josh can't help but think she needs more than just textbooks and ritalin. her mother obviously didn't care, didn't give much affection ( it's why josh is always the first to reach his hands out to the kid, the first to initiate any kind of touch ). sure, she can be annoying as hell -- but maybe she has the right idea when it comes to this whole tribe thing.

that, and he's sure the kid has to be exhausted if his own bones are aching to sit down. 

josh spots her -- head down on the table, resting on her arms at one of the farther tables at the edge of where the food court meets walk ways to various stores. eli's presence is still plenty abound and it's a mystery as to how the kid had the energy and wit to even think of some of these signs. josh shakes his head and keeps moving, sitting down next to her in one of the chairs.

"hey, demon," there's a slight shake of her shoulders to wake her, as much as it pains him ( and from the low groan she emits, it pains her to ). "there's a mattress store, you know. probably more comfortable than a table."

"i know that," angelica huffs back, lifting her head and pushing the short blonde hair ( dirty, he notes -- they should find places to wash up more often, not that it had been much of a priority before ) from her face and blearily looking up at him. 

she's got to be exhausted. the whole self-sacrificing ms. crumble, the explosion, a zombie apocalypse .. lord knows where she was before he came around, even if she did insert herself into this .. what, family? _sure._ he'll go with family this time.

  
( _"i'm not leaving here without you!" _

the weight of her small body is still heavy in his arms as he and wesley drag her away, a fighter even if she barely knocked a hundred pounds soaking wet, as he tries to cling to ms. crumbles arms before the explosions detonates. 

and god damn it crumble, making her cry like that -- breaking his heart all over again.

her weight was welcome against his back as sam declared that she was her own queen ---- something she had been planning all along, it seems, and he felt as if he was going to be sick.

they both had their hearts broken that day - though hers was almost entirely mended within twenty minutes. )

"so why aren't you there?" josh snorts, his eyebrows raising as if he hadn't expected such a snarky response. he had. everything that came out of the kids mouth was much too witty or smart for her own good, and he was lucky it was mostly the former. 

"because, i'm waiting for crumble." or the witch, and he's not surprised by that either. angelica had formed a special bond with the woman. he'd heard whisperings about monsters or something or the other but hadn't begged for far too many details. it seemed like too personal of a thing, and he has some kind of tact.

he rolled his eyes, playfully. "c'mon demon, i'll tell crumble where you are while you take a nap." his arms open, waiting for her to stand up or let him pick her up -- she wasn't heavy, not really, even if she was only half his height. to his surprise, actual surprise this time, she slings her arms around his neck. josh figures she must be actually tired if she didn't put up that much of a fight, though he was almost grateful for it.

slowly, he raises himself up off the chair, picking up the grey backpack she'd been carrying around with the arm he didn't have holding her close.

as much as josh believed he would've been fine on his own, he's kind of grateful for the stubborn kid and the sword-slinger coming into his life. it's nice -- his mother wasn't necessary absentee as much as she was just busy. and he could work with that -- he'd had to since his father died ; there hasn't been much time to grieve, not really, since the boom. and he likes the distraction of survival far too much to let someone take the reigns from him. 

he walks toward the jc penny -- not the mattress store he had spoken about, but they had blankets and those beds that should be around the perfect size for the kid in his arms. wesley walks over, eyebrows furrow in concern as he looks at angelica, head on his shoulder and arms snug tight around his neck while she holds on.

"what's wrong with the baby brat?" that earns him a middle finger, but she says nothing -- though it does get a chuckle out of josh, shaking his head.

though angelica is definitely one of the younger ones here, she's in _no way_ a baby. a demon? maybe, but that's really more of a day by day basis than an actual label. those times babysitting her hadn't been too awful.

"just_ tired,_ dude. leave 'er alone." though it's a weak defense, wesley backs off, moving to walk with him into the store. they pass by more kids in the way there, including kj who is looking a little bit more than fragile, and he gives her a 'sup nod as they walk. she gives him a raised eyebrow at the kid in his arms, but they'll talk about it later. 

slowly, they make their way to the back of the store. josh is sure angelica is sleeping by now, and he hesitates by lightly shaking her again -- though there's no groan this time, she leans back to look at him in the eye, clearly disproving of being woken once more. "'m just gonna set you down, didn't want you to freak out or anything." not that he thought she would, but then again, he doesn't ever really know what to expect from aneglica green, like, ever.

she says nothing, but lets herself be placed on the bed ; josh moves back the placeholder comforter as she maneuvers herself underneath, and he's sure this is the most comfortable place she'd slept since the boom six months ago.

wesley comes back and josh lets him argue with angelica over which blanket would be best ( he likes the blue while she likes the black and white, in typical angelica fashion --- and she wins, _of course_ ) while he watches and zones out for a minute or two. where had she been staying? had she been alone this entire time? he does recall herself minor explosions, though he really thought that was turbo made and not a ten year old pyro. 

wesley leaves, hearing his name being called by a group of other kids -- leaving angelica and josh, alone.

sitting on the side of the bed as she begins to doze, he gets up and brushes off his hands on his jeans -- when her hand catches his sleeve. 

"will you come back?"

and _boy_ does that throw him for a loop.

angelica, the kid who could conquer small villages and mountains just because she wanted to, looking exactly her age .. and even a few years younger. 

"what do you mean, kid?" in any other circumstances she'd probably smack him across the face for even associating her with the other kid, but instead she just blinks up at him. 

"i mean -- will you come back for me later?" and he's still confused, but nods anyway. he doesn't want to lie to the kid .. but he's still unsure of what she's asking. and that's probably evident on his face, so she continues. 

"my mom promised she'd come back --- but she's under water, and i don't know if she's going to. so i need to know." and oop. there it is. 

had she not been on the verge of passing out, none of that would have come out of her mouth -- she'll probably deny it when he brings it up later, but for now, he's happy she's able to let her guard down at least somewhat.

"yeah, yeah," he knows it's not persuasive. not for her, at least. it feels like a lie on his tone. "of course i will. you know i will, brat." the name is reserved for her .. because she's his little sister -- he can call her whatever he wants. "when have i ever broken a promise?"

"i don't know." she says so matter of factually, like she's trying to argue with him that the sky is orange instead of blue. and the truth is, he has not little siblings to promise them these types of things. not like he does now.

"angelica, if i wasn't going to keep a promise, i wouldn't have pulled you away from that explosion." this seems to satisfy her, as the blonde leans back more into the pillows beneath her head. "i hate it when you're right," she gripes, though it sounds like an inconvenience than an actual problem. 

"love ya' too, kid," he laughs and shakes his head -- by the time he looks at her again, her breath has evened out and she's the most relaxed he's ever seen her, including before the explosion.

josh sits for a few minutes, letting her settle more before his weight is removed from the bed, walking out of the store and back into the mall -- back to reality, with this whole sam situation going on. he thinks as he walks.

( "you'd really leave me back there, defenseless?"

no, he wouldn't. _not anymore. _

they're a tribe of their own now. )

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @ babieariel !


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